The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-06-01
THE COMMISSIONERS BUSINESS.
Damages for Ejectment from n Car Asked
Under the Interstate Law.

| Damages for Ejectment from a Car Asked
/ Under the Interstate Law
WASHINGTON, May 31.-Complaint has
been received by the Interstate Com
merce Commission from VIM. III. Coun-
Gill, a colored man, directed agaist the
| Western and Atlantic Railroad Com
pany, in which he AYERS that on accout
of his color he was forcibly elected from
| a first-class car after having paid for a
| first-class ticket. He asks that the Com
mission award him S25 900 damages, and
such other relief as it may deem proper
An interview with Commissioner
published in the EreniHg Star. Mr.
Bragg said: Il know COuncill well; he
is one of the brightest and best of our
colored citizens. He is a staunch Demo-
crat and canvasses the State at every
election for the Democratic ticket. He
is not a man who desires to push himself
farward because of any ambition to OBJ
tain social equality. He is mod
est and unassuming and he is a
gentleman. When / was president
of the Alabama Board of Railroad Com
missioners l required the railroads to fur
nish first-class Accommodations for all
passengers who paid first-class fare
There was fearful kick against it. but
l stuck to it and enforced the order.
They have no right to exact first-class
fare from colored man and then give
him fourth-class accommodations. The
result of my order was that railroads had
to furnish separate frst-class cars for
first-class colored passengers. Why, rep
resentatives of this very railroad COM
pany came up here and endeavored to per
suade the President not to appoint me
upon this Commission because L had
taken a stand in favor of what had re-
garded as justice to the colored people.
That was the only point they made
against me, but the President did not
Seem to sympathize with them in their
opposition to me. This complaint is not
against any Alabama railway. it is
made against the Georgia Central
Perhaps as a burlesque, or with the
view of making Councils complaints
ridiculous, a white citizen, of Georgia,
has forwarded a charge that the Georgia
Central refused to permit him to ride in
a Jim Crow" car, as the car
set apart for colored passengers
is called. The complaint has not
yet been received but the Commissioners
have been advised that it is coming. In
terms, it follows the complaint of Coun-
Gill, alleging that the complainant paid
first class fare, and therefore, had a
right to ride in any car; but when he
sought to enter the colored car he was
prevented by the railroad employers.
The white citizen complains that he was
Disseminated against because of his
color; that had he been a negro he could
have travelled in the Jim Crow" car.
The Atlantic and North Carolina Rail-
way Company has filed an application
section of the Interstate law
as far as it effects Moosehead
City and Kingston, n. c., averring that
at both of those points water competition
will ruin its business unless the relief
sought is granted.
T. A. Barrett, President of the State
Farmers Alliance of Minnesota, trans
mits long list of requests by the exec
utive committee of the Alliance looking
to the vigorous enforcement of the
Interstate Commerce law, especially
that part relating to the long and short
haul. The Alliance takes the ground that
such business interests as can be sus-
tanned only by reason of the fourth sec
tion ought not to be sustained at all.
1t is better that the
business of the country be left to the
natural law of trade than that a few
favored persons in certain places should
be able to organize and carry on colossal
enterprises because of advantages in the
use of the railways of the country"